Please, Sarah, Just Go Away

Having no television reception, I had never honestly seen and heard Sarah Palin speak. I’ve only read quotes and some text of her speeches. Seeing her words on paper (or rather a web page) is disturbing enough. I’ve only leered at photos showing her dynamite legs--a pleasant contrast to the jagged sequoias Queen Hillary waddles around on. But recently I made the effort to actually listen to the woman.

Yikes! How can anyone stand to be bombarded with that squeaky, scratchy voice? I lasted about 30 seconds before tearing off the headphones to relieve my sonic distress. I’d almost rather listen to some simian rapper do his version of the Nutcracker Suite than listen to this screeching banshee. Not only are the woman’s spoken thoughts trite, vapid, and contradictory, her presentation matches her spoken lunacies. The woman is a walking, flesh and blood cartoon!

This is what attracts the politically active? This is what attracts those looking for a master/guide to lead them out of the wilderness, relieve their distress, and validate their harmful bigotries and skewed political views? This is someone the media actually takes the time to interview, while believing what she says is intelligent, relevant and credible?

When will people finally realize what a scam politics is, playing on the fears and ignorance of a poorly educated and misinformed populace? When will people realize that only clowns and crooks are attracted to this line of “work”? When will people realize that they DON’T have to settle for incompetent and criminal “leaders” to guide and direct their lives? When will they realize that they DON’T need any leaders AT ALL?

A self directed life is a life worth living. A self directed life is one that offers the greatest chance of success. To be led by the nose by some perceived “leader” does not improve your chances of success, but rather creates the greatest risk of failure. Only YOU know what is best for you. The only requirement is that you are responsible and motivated enough to research all facts and opinions before making the critical decisions that will alter and affect your life. Why trust those important decisions to someone who can’t articulate their own thoughts without using speech writers and teleprompters? As William Anderson writes, “They are not necessarily leaders; they simply are people who control a mechanism that permits them to gain coercive power over others while claiming to be leading by moral example.”

Why do people feel that because someone holds political office (or is running for one) they hold all the knowledge and power necessary to improve the lives of others? Just because someone stands behind a podium while speaking doesn’t mean they are worth listening to. Just because someone’s words are amplified through a public address system doesn’t mean the content of that speech is accurate or even relevant. And just because some public figure appears on the nightly TV/news/cartoon shows certainly doesn’t denote a person worthy of your time.

You don’t need Homer Simpson (or the female equivalent) for anything but to laugh at, ridicule, and dismiss. See these characters as nothing more than a source of healthy humor, not as someone to follow, imitate, or take seriously.

I see lots written about some guy named Glenn Beck, whose program seems to stir up a lot of dissent and controversy. I’ve honestly never listened to him, either. As long as this experience with Screechy Sarah is fresh in my memory, I’m very hesitant to investigate. My nerve endings and auditory system are still tender from the SS outburst and another unpleasant sonic experience just might send me over the edge. I just can’t take that chance.

This column is accurate, and the key question, pertinent: "When will [people] realize that they DON’T need any leaders AT ALL?"

However isn't it better to demolish idiots by showing the falsehoods in what they say or do, and if possible by questioning their premises, rather than by accusing them of having squeaky voices or stumpy legs? Glenn Beck still isn't thinking outside the box, but he does broadcast some true stuff and it seems inappropriate to belittle him without even having heard what he says. I believe the name for that style is "ad hominem."

Put it this way: suppose a Tea Partygoer happens upon this article. He is angry about the increase in government under Obama, and eager to find out what's up. He likes Sarah and Glenn. Will this article motivate him to read more in STR and discover why nobody needs any leaders at all?

I agree with Jim Davies, in fact I will go further. Whichever of the major parties happens to “in power” at the moment automatically makes a large number of people who are loyal to the major party “out of power” more likely to sympathize with our point of view. I myself was once a Republican and began to drift more and more towards libertarianism during the Clinton years. I saw the abuses with Ruby Ridge and the Waco Massacre and began to question the very role of government in “protecting us”. If, in the 1990’s, I had read an article with the title “Please, Rush Limbaugh, Just go away” it would have made me LESS likely to pay attention to the actual arguments presented in that site. At this point in history we should present our arguments in such a way as to show them how we are alike, not how we are different. If a Republican becomes president in January of 2013 we should do the same for Democrats. Michael Cloud has a wonderful set of recordings called “The Essence of Political Persuasion" that teaches libertarians how to speak to people on the “Right” without alienating “The Left” and visa versa. It is a wonderful set of recordings and all of us can learn from him.

I always appreciate the opportunity to use million-dollar words, and Sarah gave me "provincial;" as in "limited in outlook; narrow; unsophisticated." Picking her was, I think, John McCain's downfall, so I guess I should thank her for that as well.